House of Cards, Season Four, first-look review: a deliciously dark return to form

House of Cards faces a singular challenge as it returns to Netflix for a fourth season: how to rival the thrills and twists of a real-life American Presidential race more absurd than anything Hollywood might conjure? In a world where Donald Trump is a plausible electoral force, what does Kevin Spacey's dastardly President Francis Underwood have to do to get our attention?

Whether by design or accident, David Fincher's darkly addictive reimagining of Andrew Davies’s Nineties series for the BBC seems to have contracted some of the delirium currently sweeping American politics. A feverish urgency has taken hold of a show that, when it began, wore a cool, calm countenance even as it gleefully depicted terrible people doing awful things to one another as they jostled for power and influence.

As the story resumed Commander-in-Chief Underwood was fighting for his political life, with principled insurgent Heather Dunbar (Elizabeth Marvel) threatening to wrest the Democratic Party presidential nomination from him.

Yet the biggest menace to his Presidency was posed by First Lady Claire (Robin Wright), missing and presumed to have gone rogue. Following the spectacular disintegration of their grand alliance last season, the two great anti-heroes of modern television were engaged in a dangerous dance of mutually assured destruction.

But it was soon obvious that Claire was merely the start of his difficulties, as the unhappy ghosts of his past re-emerged to trouble him. And there was still a country to run – which meant another face off with moustache-twirling Vladimir Putin stand-in Viktor Petrov (Lars Mikkelsen).

Last year's House of Cards was widely judged the weakest run of episodes yet. Frank had gained the White House but, once in situ, appeared listless and adrift. That was equally true of the series itself, which descended into soapy silliness as it tried to retrofit Claire – Lady Macbeth minus the warmth and cuddliness – with a conscience.

But now that departing showrunner Beau Willimon has found a way of putting Underwood on the back foot again, House of Cards has regained its mojo.

Spacey twinkles with vehemence as he ratchets up his portrayal of Frank as villainous force of nature; Wright has never been better as burningly ambitious ice queen Claire, who has unearthed a useful foil in ruthless strategist Leann Harvey (played by the star of the 1996 horror classic Scream, Neve Campbell).

House of CardsCredit:
Netflix

To that can be added a live-wire plot, with several genuine upsets and some mind-bending cameos. There is also the ongoing pleasure of House of Cards's depiction of Washington DC as Purgatory-on-the-Potomac, a transient zone of faceless glass facades and people carriers with blacked-out windows.

In contrast to the real life presidential race, there is, of course, the additional comfort of knowing that, no matter how deranged the storyline, it's all just make-believe.

House of Cards was the original of the binge-watch species and fans are sure to enjoy every deliciously dark moment of what rates as a triumphant return.